IAMAI launches Mobile10X to boost apps development

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Mobile Internet body IAMAI has launched an initiative that aims to scale up mobile app developer ecosystem from the current 50,000 to five lakh in five years.

The initiative will train five lakh engineering students on Android and iOS platforms, provide online mentoring with experts as well as offer industry and investors connect.

The platform will play a mentorship role and will not be a funding or incubation platform. Under the program, IAMAI will set up five mobile start-up hubs over the next five years.

The mobile hub will have a testing lab, design lab, capability building and co-working space, where the developers can work for free, as the cost will be borne by the founding members.

With Google India and Paytm as founding partners of the program, the Mobile10X initiative also aims to boost the mobile app segment revenue to Rs 10,000 crore from the current Rs 1,000 crore.

"The first one has been set up in Bengaluru, while the second one will come up around January. We are also looking at cities like Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Pune and Mumbai," said Subho Roy, President, IAMAI.

"India is at the cusp of apps revolution. With over 213 million mobile Internet users and nearly 130 million local language consumers on the internet, the growth trajectory for app development is bound to be exponential," said Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Google India.

"With apps developers' community growing at an exponential pace, Mobile10X would augur developer base, quality and market by 10 times by 2019," said, Nishant Rao, Head, LinkedIn India.

Other board members include InMobi's Naveen Tewari, Snapdeal's Kunal Bahl and V Manjula, Secretary of Karnataka's Department of IT, Biotechnology, and Science & Technology.